This invention relates to hub structures for collapsible frames and the like and is related to my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,521 of July 28, 1981, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. Although I am aware of the references cited in my aforesaid patent, which I do not believe are relevant to the subject matter of this invention, I am also not aware of any other references which are pertinent to this invention or which would be material to the subject matter of this invention.
Hub structures according to my above prior patent have been used extensively in commerce and their features have proven to be fully operative for the intended purposes, imparting rugged hub connectors for various types of collapsible structures including those of the types disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,808 of July 13, 1976; 4,026,313 of May 31, 1977; 4,290,244 of Sept. 22, 1981; 4,437,275 of March 20, 1984; 4,473,986 of Oct. 2, 1984; 4,512,097 of Apr. 23, 1985; 4,522,008 of June 11, 1985; 4,561,618 of Dec. 31, 1985; and 4,579,066 of Apr. 1, 1986 and in particular for use in structures which are employed as frames for exhibit displays and as frames used for shelter and other purposes.
The hub of my '051 patent, known as the "ring-and-blade" hub connector requires insertion of the ring through the blades of the struts prior to mating the blade halves and securing them together so as to form a unitary assembly of struts and hub. In contrast, the hub assembly of this invention allows pivotal connection of the struts to the individual halves of the hub structure without requiring the hub halves to be mated and secured together to retain the pivot connections for the struts in place. This allows the hub halves to be mated and secured together as a permanent assembly if desired, or to remain as separate entities releasably joined together as is the case with "split hubs" as disclosed in my aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,986.